I bought a DELL computer three years ago and there was something goes wrong days ago. When I inserted the external hard disk to the computer and try to open it, system prompted me that I need to format the external hard drive before I can use it. I had no idea what is wrong with it. The disk a property showed it is raw file system. I could not format the external hard disk because there are a lot of documents important saved on it and I have no backup. But there was still no way for me to access those original data if I did not format it.
My sister suggested me to restore what I need from the raw external hard disk at first and then format it. It was very helpful for me. I get those needed files back from the raw external hard disk. Here is my way which my sister told me:
Step1. download and install the data recovery software on the computer.
http://www.ucfix.com/data-recovery/external-hard-disk-asking-to-format-it.html
Step2. Plug the raw external hard disk into the same computer.
Step3. open the data restoration program and then choose the recovery model and aim disk to scan.
Step4. preview the contents in the list after the scan and pick up the needed files to recover.
Step5. choose one of the computer hard disks as the location to store files to be retrieved.
If you have ever met such raw external hard disk or hard disk trouble, you can have a try. I hope it is useful for you, too.